Ladies Love Them Revolutionary Gangstas

Some men think slick lines and rude behavior are what get women going, not realizing that we really like rebels with a cause. Enter Dead Prez. Stic.man and M-1 took the hip-hop world by surprise in the late 90s, when they introduced us to their brand of hip-hop that was edgy, smart, political and rambunctious. It was like N.W.A. meets Malcolm X and we loved it. Classic hits like “Hip-Hop” and “I’m a African” still have heads nodding non-stop, and people have embraced the notion that it’s cool to be revolutionary but gangsta.

Their last album, 2004’s RBG took their popularity to a higher level resulting in each member pursuing solo endeavors. People were worried that there was dissention in the group but their hiatus has ended, proving otherwise, and Dead Prez has picked back up again—smarter, edgier and the owners of their own brand. They teamed up with DJ Green Lantern to drop a mixtape titled Pulse of the People, and ain’t nothin’ changed. With new joints like “Afrika Hot,” “$timulus Plan” and “Refuse to Lose,” they’re still encouraging people to turn off the radio and to stop listening to bullshit. GangStarrGirl caught up with Stic.man and found out why ladies love the RBGs.

Green Lantern did most of the production on Pulse of the People, how did you guys link up with him?

I don’t even know how we first originally met but we’ve known each other for a while just being around the industry, and we heard some of his tapes. He reached out to us to do his joint called “Impeach the President” with Saigon, Immortal Technique and Just Blaze. It was about George Bush so to us, he had always been a street DJ that wasn’t afraid to talk about politics and issues, and still keep it street level so that was our impression of him. We always honored him. He likes people who spit that raw shit so that was our connection. And I did a song with Nas called “The Association” and it came out on the mixtape that Green produced for Nas—The Nigger Mixtape—so we had built a relationship.

You collaborated with Bun B on Pulse… but he’s someone people would least expect to see DP’s rapping with so how did y’all get together?

It’s crazy you say that. I’ll tell you how I met UGK then you’re not gonna say it’s unexpected. Dead Prez was in Miami for The Source Awards or something like that, several years ago and I was already a big fan of UGK but I had never met them. So, I’m coming out of the hotel and a white Beamer, pulled up to the corner and as soon as he got my attention, the driver let his window down and it was Pimp C and the first thing he says is “Dead Prez!” then cranks up “Hip-Hop,” like look what I’m listening to. We said “What’s up” to him then next thing you know, we were in the same hotel with him, Juicy J of Three Six Mafia and Bun B, and we chopped it up for hours just on a mutual respect of each other’s stuff.

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